American carmakers are desperately struggling to survive, and we are watching and hoping that the last bastion of our once proud manufacturing sector will not become extinct. There are many Monday morning quarterbacks who point out what might have given them a longer and better future. So I might as well offer my two cents.

Twenty-five years ago I was part of running a business in Michigan. Even then I remember second-guessing the way Detroit worked.

Seasonally Yours is the little store in downtown Evergreen that has grown up.

The store has expanded into the area formerly occupied by Alpine Gifts and Collectibles, and it now offers taffy and fudge.

Its new name is Seasonally Yours, Evergreen Taffy Co. and Fresh Fudge, Too! All of that is hard to fit on a business card, but “it says just about everything we do,” said store owner Janice Stutters. “We’re fun and funky with Seasonally Yours,” which has unique gift items. The store now carries 30 varieties of taffy and 12 kinds of fudge.

Mount Evans Hospice benefited to the tune of $1,550 during a luxury home tour the weekend of June 27-28.

The tour of six homes in Cub Creek Ranch and in Genesee was more than just a way for the public to see homes selling for $2 million to $3 million, said Chris Haught, event organizer and a real estate agent for Fuller Sotheby’s.

It’s safe to say that handcrafted log furniture is more widely found in mountain homes.

Rocky Mountain Log Furniture sells custom items from its stores on Meadow Drive in Evergreen, on Miner Street in Idaho Springs and in Grand Junction. It has just expanded its reach by renting space at the Rocky Mountain Home and Design Center.

The center, on the north side of Interstate 70 at Floyd Hill, houses Colorado artisans who make and sell everything for homes from lighting and flooring to furniture and windows.

There are people who like cats, there are cat lovers ee" and then you have Mike and Susan Nocket.

They are in a league of their own when it comes to loving felines.

The couple love cats so much that they have remodeled their house into a cat hotel called the Evergreen Cat Lodge, with 32 small rooms for felines that owners can rent. Each room, which is roughly 50 square feet, is decorated like a room in a house. Some have living room chairs and electric fireplaces; others have beds; some are garden rooms and play rooms.

Sushi Evergreen is moving to new digs and opening a full-scale Japanese restaurant. It will open soon in the former Stroh’s restaurant on the east end of downtown.

The name Sushi Evergreen will remain, but the restaurant now will serve Japanese and Korean food in addition to sushi, said Matt Morneau, a co-owner of the restaurant. “There will be teriyaki dishes, soups, salmon, cooked items that people will enjoy,” he said.

If you’re staying home and entertaining guests more now than in the past, maybe it’s time for a new deck area.

Rolling Ridge Deck Co. in Marshdale designs and builds everything from a simple deck to more elaborate decks with outdoor kitchens. In addition, Rolling Ridge has just gotten into the fencing business.

“Outdoor kitchens are very big right now,” said Barb Streett, who owns the company with her husband, Barry. “People are staying at home more and want to be able to entertain more in style.”

Each April, we celebrate international customer loyalty month. You may not be aware of that and may not feel particularly loyal yourself. But one local business has been a model of how to develop loyal customers.